October marks Long Beach Arts Month and the Long Beach Post has partnered with the Arts Council for Long Beach to celebrate the image makers, the painters, the dancers, the designers, the musicians, and the countless other artists who make our city vibrant and cultured. Our homepage will feature an artist’s own unique interpretation of Long Beach daily so make sure to check back every weekday to discover or rediscover a local talent.

If you’ve ever been to bicoastal tattooing-legend Joe Truck’s Ace of Hearts Tattoo in San Pedro, you’be probably already met the charismatic Long Beach artist Cole Strem.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, a then 8-year-old Cole became obsessed with tattoos to such a point that by 15 years old, he was bragging to friends and family alike that he had already discovered his career: creating art on people’s skin. With such a career still in mind, Cole pursued an education in graphic design at the Institute of Art and Design in Milwaukee.

Never forgetting his childhood and teenage fascination with ink, Cole landed his first tattooing apprenticeship in North Hollywood at the famed Madison Tattoo. From then on, Cole’s continued to hone his tattooing skills with a particular focus on traditional American tattoo art (though he dabbles in modern techniques as well).

When working on paper instead of skin, Cole tends to stick to watercolor or ink but he hasn’t shied away from playing around with mixed media, exemplified in pieces like The Bleeding Pen Fiasco and Till Death.

To see more of Cole Strem’s work visit, click here or follow him on Instagram, @colestremtattooer. For inquiries about purchasing or commissioning his work, email Cole at colestrem@gmail.com.